Chapter 105

In this year’s Season, which had changed with updates and various Skills, Enterprise’s Attacking Team strategy could be boiled down to two main methods.

First, plant decoys like Clones or illusions to confuse the opponent.

Second, after Attacking for a bit, use Blink to instantly Breakthrough the enemy’s Fire Net.

While there were counters to both, and they were strategies widely used in the League, the plan Galaxy chose today was the first one.

A Strategy where they made it seem like they had more people in the opposite corridor using an illusion, then had their main force charge in.

But as it happened, Super Sylph also chose the same Strategy as their opponent today.

Super Sylph had also planted an illusion in the corridor.

As the Shield covered in a Shield shattered, Kim Seohyun tried to grasp the situation.

‘What happened? Why is there a Sniper here?’

No matter how times changed and the Meta shifted, the only position that could break through a Defender’s defense while they had a Shield up was a Sniper.

But hadn’t Super Sylph placed their Sniper on the opposite side?

The power she had confirmed when the enemy fired a harassing shot was not something that could be mimicked by a mere illusion.

And yet, Kim Seohyun found it hard to understand the current situation, where not only was her Shield pierced, but her Health Gauge had instantly exploded.

And seeing their Leader Retire, the Galaxy players were greatly flustered.

The Defender, who was supposed to raise her Shield and lead the team’s charge, had just keeled over and died.

“What do we do?”

“What do you mean, what do we do? We push on!”

With the Leader, the Defender, down, Oh Yeonseo, the Sub-Leader, ordered them to continue the assault.

Though not as good as a Defender, players in other positions could also use Shield Skills.

But the corridor wasn’t what you would call wide.

Amidst the intense barrage of attacks, Galaxy quickly began to sink.

While Galaxy was flailing, caught in Super Sylph’s ploy, the players were surprised, but the shock felt by the Spectators watching the game was even greater.

-A Position Change?

-General Seo?

-What a waste of Talent…!

-But wait, why is the execution so perfect?

-She can pull off a multi-Class to this extent?

The reason the Spectators were so shocked was Seo Dami’s Position Change.

From Attacker to Supporter.

A Supporter, a Class specialized in assisting teammates.

A moment ago, Seo Dami, having changed her Class, had given a Buff to Kim Dain, who was taking aim and preparing to fire, helping her pierce Kim Seohyun’s Shield.

Super Sylph’s Strategy from a moment ago was as follows.

First, plant an illusion to cloud the enemy’s Judgment.

Of course, the first shot fired was real.

Until then, Kim Dain had been genuinely guarding the right corridor.

After deceiving the enemy with a real shot, Kim Dain received a concentrated Buff from Hwang Jua, used Blink to move to the opposite corridor, took a firing stance while in Stealth, and waited for Galaxy’s Attack.

You could say that Super Sylph had deceived Galaxy much more skillfully.

But it didn’t end there.

The key point of this Strategy was Seo Dami’s Position Change.

She had entered this game not as an Attacker, but as a Supporter.

And this had struck Galaxy exactly where they least expected it.

What if Seo Dami had been an Attacker, not a Supporter?

Kim Seohyun’s Shield wouldn’t have been pierced so easily.

It was the most heavily armored position, and she even had a Shield up.

But Seo Dami, with practiced skill, granted a Buff to Kim Dain.

Hwang Jua, and even Seo Dami.

Kim Dain’s Attack Power, having received a concentrated Buff from two Supporters, instantly surpassed Kim Seohyun’s expectations.

That was the reason Galaxy’s charge had failed so anticlimactically.

“Super Sylph takes the first Round!”

“Galaxy! They look flustered by the unexpected blow!”

-Waaaaaaah!!

-It was always you…

-The Great Dami!

-Stay with us for life! We won’t let you go anywhere else!!!

At the Caster’s shout, the Spectators calmed their startled hearts and applauded the players.

Today’s match was being held at Super Sylph’s home stadium, so naturally, the fans’ reaction was explosive.

What did a Position Change matter?

The important thing was that their team had easily taken down the number one team.

As long as the results were good, the fans were just happy, no matter how the positions were changed.

And Galaxy, unaware of this fact, had no choice but to be thrown around.

Who could have imagined it?

That a player, evaluated to be on a World Class level not just in the domestic League but globally, would suddenly come out with a Position Change.

To make matters worse, the Enterprise Battlefield was long, making it difficult to confirm the change with the naked eye, and Galaxy had no choice but to give up the first Set.

It was only in the second Set, on the Boundary Battlefield, after exchanging gunfire, that the Galaxy team realized Seo Dami had changed positions to a Supporter.

‘Seo Dami…! You’re a truly terrifying one.’

Kim Seohyun and Oh Yeonseo, who had briefly been on the same boat as Seo Dami on the Korean national team, thought as much as they exchanged attacks with their opponent.

For them, who had been on the national team for this year’s Olympics, Position Changes were not that unfamiliar.

Hadn’t the national team’s Captain, Kim Seunga, paired up with Seo Dami and used a Position Change to push Kato to the brink?

But the key point of that Strategy was Kim Seunga, not Seo Dami.

It was Kim Seunga, who had raised her Supporter proficiency to that level in such a short time, who was the monster.

Of course, Kim Seunga had a long career as a player and had the Experience Points of having mainly played a Supporter before her pro debut.

But what about Seo Dami?

She was just twenty years old.

An age where she wouldn’t have had the time to properly master the Supporter role.

Moreover, she was said to not even be a player who had started preparing to go pro from a young age.

So what did this mean?

It meant that with pure Talent alone, she could handle two positions skillfully enough to use them in the Pro League, a Talent that, from the perspective of a fellow player, was truly enviable.

‘Still, we can’t lose like this.’

Even while shaken, Galaxy tried to regain their Momentum.

The opponent’s Position Change was unexpected, but if they crumbled over something like this, they couldn’t call themselves the number one team in the country.

‘If they have two Supporters, there’s bound to be a lack of Attack Power.’

In the first place, there were only a few teams in the entire world that could use such a Strategy.

Either a team that possessed an ultimate Attacker like Kato Mikane, who could bring an overwhelming return when receiving a Double Buff.

Or the Battlefield had to be advantageous for a specific position, like this time.

But the second Set Battlefield was Boundary.

It wasn’t a Battlefield where Snipers got a particular boost, and Galaxy was confident they could make a comeback.

That is, until they saw Hwang Jua, who had charged at them, use Acceleration and cut down their own Supporter.

“Did Super Sylph train like mad for this during the entire Break Period? This time, it’s Hwang Jua’s Attacker change!”

Super Sylph shook Galaxy’s Mental once again.

Hwang Jua’s Position Change.

Hwang Jua, now an Attacker, pressured Galaxy’s Flank with sharp shots.

What was even more mind-boggling was that Seo Dami was running around frantically, switching between Supporter and Attacker.

Boundary was a Deathmatch Battlefield.

Deathmatches naturally had a lot of Deaths, which meant more opportunities to make a Position Change.

Super Sylph used this to their advantage.

By actively utilizing Seo Dami and Hwang Jua’s Position Changes, they succeeded in confusing Galaxy’s Judgment.

‘Our Jua has good aim, after all.’

<It’s really going as expected, isn’t it?>

‘I told you it would work. Don’t tell me you didn’t believe me?’

<Hey, what are you talking about? I always believe you, Oppa…!>

Han Youngin, who was directing the In-Game play in place of Jung Yunseul, smiled with satisfaction.

Right. So what if he couldn’t predict a few things?

So what if his brain wasn’t up to par?

Then he could just have her be an Attacker who competes with pure Physical.

Of course, Judgment was important for an Attacker too, but the role of Attacker seemed to suit Hwang Jua quite well.

The player herself liked it, too.

‘We push on like this.’

Super Sylph did not miss the opening as Galaxy’s Momentum faltered.

Super Sylph, who had been at a disadvantage in the First Half with a meager Win Rate of just over 20% against them.

But today was different.

Against Galaxy, who could be called their natural enemy, Super Sylph succeeded in a perfect revenge, taking two Sets in a row.

Score 57 to 32.

Super Sylph announced a rebellion in the Second Half League by achieving perfect revenge against Galaxy.

-How can a team change this much in just one month!

-You crazy bastards! I love you!

-Let’s win the championship and go to the World Championship!

The signal for a change of the domestic throne.

Super Sylph fans sent fervent applause and cheers, but none of them could have guessed the inside story behind today’s strategic changes.

Seo Dami and Hwang Jua’s Position Changes.

This alone was quite shocking, but the real trick had not even been revealed yet.

‘The real game is the World Championship…!’

The ghost of Super Sylph, who had secretly designed all these strategies, was already bracing himself, envisioning the next stage.

‘Why has Unni been so down lately…?’

Haruna, who had come to the break room to offer Kato a cup of tea, quietly watched from the doorway as Kato leaned against the window, staring blankly outside.

Over a month had passed since they returned from the Olympics.

The world had long since recovered from the shock of the terror attack and regained its daily routine, and people were once again immersing themselves in the game, reclaiming their lives.

Team Kamui was on a winning streak, just as they had been in the First Half.

The fans sent unchanging applause and support for their achievements, but the players who were actually competing felt a little different.

The players felt that their Leader Kato’s play was not the same as before.

It wasn’t that her skills had diminished.

Her play was always top-notch.

But lately, their Leader was, how should I put it…

Lacking in motivation.

It was hard to find the same passion as before.

Of course, the fans probably hadn’t noticed.

Her Performance was still fantastic, after all.

But she, who had always talked about the game even when there were no matches and insisted, “Guys, let’s practice!”, had recently been spending more time staring out the window or blankly at the TV.

Maybe the shock of the Olympics incident was more severe than she let on…

Haruna worried about Kato as she checked the mail.

The Team House was full of fan letters, but sometimes there were letters that needed to be checked, so it was the job of Haruna, the team’s youngest, to check and deliver them.

“Hmm?”

Just then.

Haruna found a letter from Korea.

It was a letter that had come occasionally before, and after checking it, Haruna was lost in thought for a moment.

Should I give this to her?

Since Kato had fans all over the world, it wasn’t particularly strange for a letter to come from Korea.

The problem was that every time Kato saw a letter from Korea, her mood would swing from happy to angry, completely up and down.

She was worried that receiving this might make her gloominess worse, but in the end, the decision was the Leader’s to make.

“Unni. There’s a letter for you-.”

“A letter?”

Kato waved her hand dismissively, saying she would check it later, so just leave it there.

“Okay-,” Haruna replied, adding that the letter was from Korea.

And what do you know.

Kato jumped up from her seat and checked the letter.

A faint smile appeared on Kato’s face as she quickly tore open the envelope and checked the letter.

It must have been a letter Unni was waiting for.

Haruna thought that was a good thing, but only for a moment. Kato’s expression gradually hardened, and in the end, her eyebrows furrowed as if she were angry.

And a moment later.

“Look at this guy…?”

What on earth was in that letter to stir her Unni’s emotions so quickly?

Haruna was extremely curious about the contents, but Kato had no intention of showing her the letter.

Crumpling the letter with enough force to tear it, Kato said to Haruna.

“Go tell Coach Yuta to drop everything else and analyze just one team.”

“Yes.”

Coach Yuta was one of the coaches on Team Kamui, responsible for the Scouting Report on opposing teams.

For a team of Kamui’s caliber, it was common to have several coaches on staff, with their roles subdivided into tactical training, Physical Training, Analysis Coach, and so on.

“Which team should I tell him to analyze?”

“Korea, Super Sylph.”

“I’m sorry, Unni. Where did you say?”

Haruna asked again, thinking she had misheard.

But the answer was the same.

Korea, which, although the situation had improved recently, was still called one of Asia’s weaker leagues.

It was a request to analyze a specific team from such a league, so it was natural for Haruna to ask again.

Kato said Super Sylph once more, and Haruna said she understood and was about to leave the break room.

“Oh, and.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve been a bit lazy lately, haven’t I?”

“What? No, Unni…”

“What do you mean, no? Anyway, tell the others too. We’re starting practice again. We have to win the World Championship two years in a row, don’t we?”

“…Yes!”

Haruna was happy that Kato seemed to have regained her energy.

She didn’t know what was in the letter, but she also felt grateful to the person who wrote it.

For helping their Leader find her lost motivation.

The fact that her Unni was a little angry was one thing, but for Haruna, the Leader regaining her energy was the priority.

‘That aside, I wonder what was in that letter.’

The contents of the letter that Haruna was curious about.

The letter that Kato had crumpled into a ball in her pocket, her anger rising, had the following written on it.

「Dear Kato Mikane,

I hope you are well.

It is very hot in Korea, but I imagine it’s nothing compared to a Japanese summer.

Thanks to your kind help when I was in Japan, I was able to regain my health.

I am always grateful for that.

I also feel sorry for leaving the Team House so quietly without a word that day.

I am writing this letter today to convey these thoughts and to ask how you are doing.

It would be quick to write an email, but I feel that this kind of analog sensibility is nice sometimes.

You’re probably wondering what nonsense this ghost is spouting, so I’ll get to the main point of this letter.

After the Second Half League ends, there is the World Championship.

The very tournament that you, Kato Mikane, set as the deadline.

I am with the Super Sylph players now and am sparing no effort to win against Team Kamui.

I am writing this letter to convey my intention to use everything you have taught me, including how to handle the Earth Vein, and all my skills.

I have a feeling you might call me a thieving bastard.

Even if you call me cheap, there’s nothing I can do about it.

My life is on the line here.

I will use every method I can to defeat you, to defeat Kamui.

I know that this letter may ignite your fighting spirit.

But I am writing it nonetheless because what I received from you was not insignificant.

A stab in the back hurts less when you see it coming, wouldn’t you agree?

Well then, Kato Mikane.

I hope you stay healthy until our showdown.

No, wait… I think it would be fine if you were a little less healthy.

I’ll see you then.

Sincerely, Han Youngin, the ghost who will defeat you and settle his life debt.」